Hazlewood power station closure: Dale Foster one of many to lose his job this month

HAZELWOOD power station has been a big part of Dale Foster’s life — he can even point out where he used to ride his bike as a kid — but this month he’ll be one of many to lose their job.

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HIGH above Hazelwood power station, shift manager Dale Foster can still point out where he used to ride his bike as a kid.

He spent more than a few summers with his mates swimming in the cooling pond, the plant’s eight chimneys towering above them.

Hazelwood was a big part of his life even before he started working here. This month the 58-year-old will be among the 315 employees to lose their jobs after a state government decision to shut the brown coal-fired plant.

Shift Manager Dale Foster at Hazelwood coal fired power station. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Shift Manager Dale Foster at Hazelwood coal fired power station’s control room. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty

Hazelwood Power station and coal mine tour. View from the roof of the power station. Picture: David Caird

Hazelwood power station maintenance still being performed. Picture: David Caird

Trucks transport old coal at Hazelwood. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

“It’s a bit sooner than we thought,’’ Mr Foster said. “I know a lot of people are looking to get back into a trade but a lot of us older blokes will ­retire. We really have loved working here.’’

From the raw coal bunker, visitors have an expansive view of Morwell’s open cut mine and the transfer belts that carry deposits away to be processed and burnt off.

It’s a bleak industrial outlook, but one that has provided a solid foundation for local employment since the station was commissioned in 1959. The plant produces 25 per cent of Victoria’s power and another 5 per cent nationally.

Fears remain over just what impact its closure on March 31 will have on townships.

Hazelwood power station coal mine dredge operator Patrick Fleming. Picture: David Caird

Inside Hazelwood power station. Picture: David Caird

Hazelwood power station. Picture: David Caird

A worker walks past the turbine generator units. Picture: David Caird

Hazelwood power station and coal mine will soon close. Picture: David Caird

The station has directly ­employed 500 staff at any one time with another 300 contractors. Only 135 jobs will ­remain as part of the decommissioning process. Bucket-wheel dredge driver Patrick Fleming, 56, will finish up after more than 35 years.

“For us older blokes it’s OK,’’ he said. “It’s the younger guys I feel sorry for.’’

Mine operator Ron Bernardi said it would be a bittersweet moment. “When I started work here 36 years ago I hated the place,’’ he said.

“But then I realised it wasn’t the job — it was my attitude. Electricity is an essential service and it felt good to go home each night and know you had helped make it happen.’’

Hazelwood raw coal bunker operator Ron Bernardi holds lumps of the brown coal mined on the site. Picture: David Caird

Hazelwood brown coal mine. Picture: David Caird

A coal face dredge operating in the brown coal mine. Picture: David Caird

Hazelwood power station is in its final stages before shutting down. Picture: Stuart McEvoy